Welcome to the Terrible Twos

As I sit here typing this, we are watching Wall-E for the millionth time.  My child’s day isn’t complete without watching it at least two times.

This is exactly how I feel…

tumblr_mowt97I0Tr1rdx9qvo1_500

I could sing the opening song in Wall-E from Hello Dolly by heart now.  “Out there, there’s a world outside of Yonkers…”

But I’m not going to argue if it makes Mabel happy…it could be far worse, right?  Especially after the past 6 days…

6 days?  6 crazy days…

It all started last Tuesday; a giant welcome to the Terrible Twos.  Up until then, I thought it was quite possibly a mythical phase that parents told other parents to scare them since Mabel had been nothing but super sweet since she turned two.  Oh how wrong I was.

She woke up crying…and screaming.  Like mad screaming.  I walked into her room and gave her our typical morning greeting and all I got in return was more screaming and a karate chop to the neck.  It was too early in the morning to be dealing with stuff like that, cue the ‘ain’t nobody got time for that!‘ saying.

I figured she had just woken up on the wrong side of the crib and it was nothing some milk and breakfast wouldn’t fix.  I was severely wrong.

This sour attitude lasted until nap time…but then it got worse.  Mabel normally loves going to nap/bed.  She’ll walk me upstairs, and wait at her crib until I lift her in.  But today…it was going to be an epic battle. 

She screamed.
She cried.
She ran away.
She threw things.

Who the heck is this child?!  Surely she isn’t mine!

For an hour I watched her on her monitor.  Everything got thrown out of her crib, she stripped off all her clothes, and screamed bloody murder, finally passing out.  For only 45 minutes.  Momma needed more of a break than that after such a rough morning.

So I ignorantly thought things might be better after this short nap.  Nope.

It was screaming and crying once again until her father got home.  Normally, he gets a nice greeting of ‘It’s Dada!” while she runs to him.  This time, it was:  a loud scream and a fall to the floor tantrum as he walked in.  I told him it had been one of those days where I would have gladly traded places and gone to work for him.

This continued until bath time (which she normally loves) and she cried the entire time…then did a lovely copy of nap time all over again for bedtime.

This went on for 5 whole days.

terrible twos
This face says it all.

We had made sure she wasn’t sick, hurting, or in pain…we couldn’t figure out what it was.

I was seriously beginning to doubt my ability as a mother and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry at least once.

I had no idea what had happened or where my normally sweet child had gone and who this screaming tantrum child was.

Then just as quickly as this terrible behavior had started, it begin to disappear.  Sunday, I began to see little bits of my sweet Mabel shining through the crazy behavior.

And this morning (Monday), I went into her room to get her expecting to get a screaming toddler…I received a smile and a giggle.

I knew immediately she was back.

And thank goodness, because I needed to regain my sanity.  Not to mention she had been making me doubt we could handle another baby if that craziness would have continued.

Now I’m not oblivious to that behavior rearing it’s ugly head again…I think it’s a natural process of toddlers wanting to test their independence and boundaries…but I hope she gives me a while before dumping that on me again.

What’s some of the most memorable (if I can even say that) Terrible Two behavior that you’ve survived?  Or do you have any tips for me that you could share?

16 thoughts on “Welcome to the Terrible Twos

  1. Anna K. says:

    I wish I had good tips, every child is so different! You will learn what will work best for Mabel when she is in these moods.

    It does get easier, but it’s a whole new ball game now.

    Also, it’s the WORST when they wake up from nap even crankier than before.

    Things that have worked for both of us, is to throw everyone in the car and go for a drive, go through a drive thru and get something for all of us.

    Sometimes, just snuggling and reading books works, sometimes popsicles. Every day is different.

    The struggle is real in toddlerhood though. Good luck!!

    • Morgan says:

      You’re very right! The scary thing though is I had someone tell me ‘just wait until she’s 3’, lol! I guess just take it one day at a time but it seems that these rough patches are at least few and far between (hopefully I didn’t just jinx myself!).

  2. Kristina says:

    Oh dear….sounds bad, but if it makes you feel better, I am going through just the same with Karl, pure insanity! He is not even two!!!! Mornings start like that and I was a fool to hope days would get better….

    • Morgan says:

      Aw, might he be teething? All of Mabel’s teeth are in so I know that wasn’t what was bothering her but I know it’s pretty rough for some little ones. 🙁 I hope Karl has a good day tomorrow. 🙂

      • Kristina says:

        Thank you and no teething just those terrible few days like you described. Sometimes I catch myself doing everything that he wants, fulfilling his every wish, then I stop to think where does that leave me, am I a good mum now, spoiling my child…what will he learn from this? I feel so powerless when he shows that he wants me close, but scratches me and pushes me away at the same time…craziness lol. Haha I just read “wait till they’re 3”

  3. Amelia says:

    It’s like you read my mind and knew I had a wonderfully insane day with my twin two year olds!! Thank you for letting me feel like I’m not alone. Too many blogs these days make as if they are perfect parents with perfect children. Thank you!

    • Morgan says:

      It’s amazing how much we can relate. 😉 And you’re right, I’ve stumbled upon plenty of blogs where people gloss over real life and make things seem way too perfect! Hey, I try to keep it as real as possible! 🙂 The good, the bad, and the ugly!

  4. Tabatha says:

    It might sound horrible or bad but when my girls would do that I would walk away from them. When they would come to me I would explain (as much and easily as possible) that while they are acting like this, mommy will not give any attention to the behavior. So when it would start I would walk away. It took a few days but they got it. They would try again in a few days but it would be business as usual. Praise God that now I can offically say that the terrible twos were the only time my children threw temper tantrums and bouts of screaming. Its all about boundaries. Good luck. Will keep you in my prayers.

    • Morgan says:

      Doesn’t sound horrible at all! I think they are trying to get attention during most of those little breakdowns so it’s best not to reward them with attention. I’m hoping that this behavior is behind us now, but I’m sure it’ll happen again (just hopefully not as bad as these past few days). I’m wondering if she’s picking up on the stress of moving next week…

  5. tanya says:

    Oh boy I have one of those! ! I’ve found its usually is worst when she’s cutting a tooth. Does Mable have her 2 year molars yet?

    • Morgan says:

      She has all of her teeth. 🙂 Surprisingly, teething was always pretty easy for her…but I’m wondering if maybe the behavior was caused from her picking up on the stress of moving next week?

  6. Caroline Green says:

    Once we had such a horrible tantrum that lasted SO long, that after we tried everything we could think of, Zane looked at me and asked, “I mean, should we take her to the hospital?!” Hahah! p.s. we’re all fine now 🙂 love to you! You’re an awesome mom and you’re doing a great job. This stuff is so normal❤️

    • Morgan says:

      Caroline, we need to catch up! And that is hilarious! I’m going to be messaging you soon on FB! We are getting ready to move next week (I’ll be in MD temporarily for a month) and I think you just just moved last week too? Thanks so much for the reassurance! 🙂

  7. Phyllis Adams says:

    The Terrible Two’s are rough. But the Horrible Three’s are so much worse…. However it all goes away about 2 months before their 4th birthday. Then you have your little angel back (at least for a few years 🙂 From a mom of 4 grown kids and the grandma of twin 3 year olds.

  8. Katherine says:

    As a mom of a 1 yo 2 yo and 4 yo I have had my fair share of epic meltdown tantrums. Just last week my 2yo decided he was NOT going to sit in the cart while shopping. There were tears, screaming, kicking, hitting, the whole time. . . Ahh the glory of parenthood.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.